NEWS AND UPDATES FROM FUNDY ST. LAWRENCE DAWNING WATERS AND
REGIONAL COUNCIL 15
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Please send announcements to trose@united-church.ca
www.ucceast.ca
Staff Directory
Emergency Response Memo’s Regional Council 15
Emergency Response Memo’s Fundy St. Lawrence Dawning Waters
Making Hope Visible – Podcast
To view upcoming programs at the Tatamagouche Centre please click here.
To view upcoming events at the Atlantic School of Theology please click here.
To view upcoming programs at the United Theological College please click here.
Online Vigil for Nova Scotia
An online Vigil was offered on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 by Region 15, with assistance from Moderator Richard Bott and General Secretary Nora Sanders. The recording of the vigil is available for viewing on The United Church of Canada YouTube page. Please feel free to share this link among your congregations and communities.
Camping Sunday 2020
Camping Sunday 2020 is quickly approaching. Traditionally, it is celebrated on the final Sunday of April. However, given the circumstances in Nova Scotia that many of our communities of faith will want or need to address on Sunday, it’s my suggestion that we move it to the first Sunday in May. As a way to celebrate Camping Sunday, I, along with folks from a variety of our camps, have prepared a service for online use for communities of faith as they wish to use it. It will be found on YouTube. The link will be sent out in next week’s announcements. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me at cstuart@united-church.ca Rev. Catherine Stuart, Regional Minister for Children, Youth and Young Adults
Making Hope Visable – Earth Day: Faith, Climate, and COVID-19 Connections
Making Hope Visible Podcast – Latest Episode now available.
In this Earth Day episode, recorded before the current tragedies in NS, host Laura Hunter, has a lively conversation about the connection between churches, climate change, and COVID-19 with Rev. Dr. Jim Antal, denominational leader, long time activist, public theologian, and author of Climate Church, Climate World: How People of Faith Must Work for Change. Jim looks at lessons we are learning from the current pandemic and how they might help us in our journey to seeking a healthier planet. He calls churches and their leaders to make bold responses and be agents for vision and defiant hope through engagement. Laura’s introduction acknowledges the pain that many in our Regions, and beyond, are experiencing. Listen to this episode here: Making Hope Visible – Episode 5. Or wherever you find your favourite podcasts!
Grief Theory and the Rainbows for All Children Program
In preparation for the potential announcement that the rest of the school year would be cancelled, an Introduction to Grief Theory and the Rainbows for All Children Program had been organized. Children are already experiencing grief about being separated from friends, and losing the school year will be one more blow. After the events of April 19 & 20 in Nova Scotia, the need is even greater. If you are willing to be a facilitator, or feel there are children or adults in your community who would benefit from a grief support group, please consider attending An introduction to Grief Theory & the Rainbows for All Children Program via zoom on April 28th @ 7pm. Pre-registration is required. Register in advance for this meeting:
https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMpcOmvpzkrH9Do1lymPz0it0HV6afHhqzC After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Thanks for considering this or passing it along to the people in your congregation who look after the programming for children and youth.
Refugee Sponsorship Training Program bulletin
View this edition’s highlights that include: recommendations on how sponsors can continue providing financial and settlement support to sponsored newcomers whilst maintaining physical distancing; the details of our new and revamped monthly webinar series that started this week, and, the details of upcoming webinars for each province on new programs and initiatives that offer financial assistance and relief to those whose income was affected by COVID-19 and a look at how settlement agencies are adapting to the situation and continue to provide services to newcomers
Atlantic School of Theology – Online Courses
Ready to learn something new, have a mental refresher, or connect with some other eager learners? Atlantic School of Theology invites you to register for one of our Summer Continuing Education opportunities. All programs will be offered fully online. View the courses on offer.
Atlantic School of Theology – Class of 2020
As you may know, Senate has decided to cancel this year’s Convocation in keeping with current public safety directives and to ensure the safety of the AST community and beyond during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Class of 2020 has been invited to mark their graduation at Convocation 2021. At the same time, our community would like to celebrate those who will graduate this year. AST has created a Facebook group to celebrate the Class of 2020 on line this year. To join this Facebook group, and to add your congratulations, please visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/784027012127099/
Scam Emails
The Region 15 office has received concerns about recent emails that give the appearance of coming from ministers, asking for money and/or gift cards. These emails use the email address unitedclergy01@gmail.com. Please be advised that it is not a typical practice for ministers to request money or gift cards to be sent to them personally. Furthermore, when receiving an unusual request like this, it is a wise practice to check the originating email address. If the originating email address is not familiar to you, it would be appropriate to ignore the email, or contact your minister by phone or confirmed email to verify the information. This kind of scam is called “spoofing,” where the fraudster attempts to masquerade as a trusted person. Your email has not been “hacked,” neither has your minister’s email been “hacked.” Neither of you have lost control of your accounts. The spoofer is using a publicly available name and an completely different email address to make contact. Please delete the email, ignore future emails like this, and block the email address from making future contact. You can also report it to your internet company (ISP).
